Method of television program suggestion and apparatus therefor

ABSTRACT

The invention proposes a method and apparatus for providing a television viewer with relevant program suggestions while the viewer browses an electronic program guide (EPG) ( 38 ). The invention uses a viewer profile ( 44 ), which may be obtained in accordance with any well-known technique, in conjunction with the viewer&#39;s usage of the EPG ( 38 ) as a basis for program suggestions. In this way, relevant program suggestions may be provided, and typically displayed within a picture-in-picture window ( 430 ) on the screen ( 400 ) of a television display apparatus ( 300 ).

[0001] The present invention relates to a method of television programsuggestion and an apparatus for carrying out the method, the methodrelating particularly to a method of television program suggestion basedon a viewer's usage of an electronic program guide (EPG).

[0002] As the number of television channels available to viewersincreases, it becomes increasingly difficult for a viewer to findprograms of interest. EPGs can help to overcome this problem bydisplaying upcoming programs grouped according to particular genres,channels, time slots etc. A number of more sophisticated methods oftelevision program suggestion are known and generally displaysuggestions to viewers through an EPG, with suggestions based on aviewer profile. The viewer profile contains information relating to aviewer's interests and may be generated according to interestinformation obtained either explicitly by a viewer entering preferences,or implicitly from aspects of viewer behavior.

[0003] The patent document WO 00/04708 discloses a method of televisionprogram suggestion using information relating to a program a viewer iscurrently watching to make the suggestions. This can be described as acontext-sensitive suggestion method, the context for the suggestionsbeing given by information relating to the currently watched program.

[0004] Methods of television program suggestion using informationrelating to the program a viewer is currently watching are necessarilylimited to suggesting program in some way related to the currentlywatched program, i.e. the current context, but a viewer may requireprogram suggestions if the currently watched program is not relevant tothe viewer's interests. Limiting to suggestions based on the currentprogram may provide a too narrow range of program suggestions.

[0005] It is an object of preferred embodiments of the present inventionto provide a method of television program suggestion based on a viewer'susage of an EPG which provides context-sensitive suggestions of programswithout the limitations described above.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod of television program suggestion, which method is characterizedin that the program suggestions provided are based on a profile of theviewer's interests and a viewer's current location in an EPG structure.

[0007] Supplying context-based suggestions rather than simplysuggestions based on viewer profile alone ensures that a more focussedsuggestion can be given, which is more likely to meet with the viewer'sactual viewing preferences at that time.

[0008] Preferably, program choices which are directly accessible fromthe current location and closely correlate with viewer preferences fromthe profile are suggested to the viewer.

[0009] Suitably, a first suggestion provided to the viewer is a programchoice from the current location having a closest correlation with theviewer preferences.

[0010] The viewer's current location in an EPG structure may comprise:

[0011] (i) an information location relating to a particular channel, inwhich case program suggestions are provided on a priority basis fromthis channel;

[0012] (ii) an information location relating to a particular time slot,in which case program suggestions are provided on a priority basis fromthis time slot;

[0013] (iii) an information location relating to a particular programgenre, in which case program suggestions are provided on a prioritybasis from this program genre or a sub set of this program genre; or anyother suitable information location.

[0014] Suitably, the program suggestions provided are updated whenever aviewer's location in an EPG structure changes.

[0015] Suitably, the program suggestions provided are displayed in apicture-in-picture window specifically for displaying programsuggestions. However, the program suggestions may be displayed byhighlighting relevant programs in an existing EPG window. If no relevantprograms can be identified, no suggestions are displayed.

[0016] According to a second aspect of the invention, there is providedan apparatus for carrying out the method of the first aspect of theinvention, said apparatus comprising an EPG; an interface to enable aviewer to change locations in the EPG; a stored profile of viewerpreferences; a receiver to receive signals including television programsand information relating to television programs; and means for providingprogram suggestions based on the viewer's current location in the EPGand the preferences in the stored profile.

[0017] Preferably, the EPG stores the information relating to televisionprograms and provides the information relating to television programs tothe means for providing program suggestions.

[0018] According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided atelevision display apparatus incorporating the apparatus of the secondaspect and a display capable of displaying the received signals,information from the EPG and provided program suggestions.

[0019] For a better understanding of the invention, and to show howembodiments of the same may be carried into effect, reference will nowbe made, by way of example, to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings inwhich:

[0020]FIG. 1 shows a flow chart illustrating a method according to thepresent invention;

[0021]FIG. 2 shows a television display apparatus incorporatingapparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention;

[0022] FIGS. 3A-3E show examples of screen displays provided to a viewerusing an EPG featuring a program suggestion function according to thepresent invention.

[0023] Illustrative steps involved in providing a method of televisionprogram suggestion according to the present invention are shown inFIG. 1. Upon entering an EPG structure and a context-based programsuggestion function, the procedure of FIG. 1 is initiated, in step 10.At any point after this, the process may be terminated by a jumpdirectly to step 24 by exiting the context-based program suggestionfunction. Step 12 involves the accessing of a viewer profile. The viewerprofile may be stored locally to the equipment carrying out the method,or may be alternatively provided from a remote database. After theviewer profile has been accessed, knowledge regarding the content ofupcoming programs is acquired in step 14. The metadata is broadcastalong with the EPG signals. Next, the EPG context is determined in step16. The EPG context comprises a location in an EPG structure that aviewer is currently browsing. For example, the viewer may browse throughprograms being shown at a particular time, programs being shown on aparticular channel or by particular types of channels (for example,music channels, sports channels, movie channels, etc). In step 18, theviewer profile, EPG context and knowledge of forthcoming programs areused to provide relevant program suggestions to a viewer. In this step,the EPG context is correlated with viewer profile so as to present anddisplay suggestions which are targeted toward a close correlationbetween the context and the profile. In step 19, it is determined if thecontext has changed. If the context has not changed, the method proceedsto step 20, otherwise the process returns to step 16. In step 20, if oneof the suggested programs is selected, the method proceeds to step 22where that selected program is displayed and then to step 24 where theprocess ends. In step 20, if no program is judged to have been selected,the process returns to step 18.

[0024]FIG. 2 shows an example of an embodiment for carrying out thepresent invention. The apparatus shown in FIG. 2 comprises a televisiondisplay apparatus 300. A television broadcast signal is received by thetelevision display apparatus 300 at aerial 30. The television broadcastsignal may comprise a digital or analog signal, and may be broadcast byterrestrial, satellite, cable or other suitable techniques. The signalreceived at aerial 30 is fed to the demodulation/tuner block 32. Thedemodulation/tuner block 32 feeds a video signal to a video mixer 34.The video signal output by the demodulation/tuner block 32 comprises aparticular television channel. The video mixer 34 is directly coupled toan optical output device 36, which may be, for example, a cathode raytube or any other suitable apparatus.

[0025] The demodulation/tuner block 32 extracts EPG information includedin the broadcast signal and feeds this information to EPG block 38. TheEPG information fed to EPG block 38 comprises both information onforthcoming programs in a video format to be fed to video mixer 34before display on optical output device 36 when a viewer is using an EPGfunction, but also metadata concerning forthcoming TV programs that canbe fed to a suggestion engine 46 when the viewer requires context-basedprogram suggestions. The metadata is stored in an EPG database 39 afterits extraction from the television broadcast signal. In the televisiondisplay apparatus 300 of FIG. 2, a user profile is stored in profileblock 44, but the user profile may be alternatively stored remotely. Theinformation contained in profile block 44 may be acquired through anysuitable technique, such as explicit feedback from a viewer's responseto a questionnaire, by a user selecting a lifestyle stereotype or by anyform of implicit feedback from viewer activity statistics.

[0026] A viewer controls the operation of the television displayapparatus 300 by using a remote control unit 40. The remote control unitproduces infrared signals when operated by a viewer, although othercontrol devices can be envisaged by persons skilled in the art. Theinfrared signals from the remote control unit 40 are received by aninfrared receiver 42. The infrared receiver 42 passes control signals tothe demodulation/tuner block 32 to control the TV channel fed to thedisplay apparatus 36 through the mixer 34. In addition, the infraredreceiver 42 feeds control signals to EPG block 38 to control theviewer's operation of the EPG. The EPG block 38 feeds a first signal tothe video mixer 34 for incorporation in the video signal displayed atoptical output device 36. The viewer may also initiate a change ofchannel whilst using the EPG, and therefore a second output of EPG block38 is fed to the control input of the demodulation/tuner block 32.

[0027] If the viewer using the EPG initiates a context-based suggestionfunction according to the present invention, the EPG block 38 feeds thisrequest to suggestion engine 46.

[0028] The suggestion engine 46 accesses profile block 44 to acquire theviewer profile and also accesses the EPG database 39 of EPG block 38 toacquire metadata regarding forthcoming programs. On receiving thesepieces of information, the suggestion engine 46 outputs a video signalcontaining the context-based suggestions to the video mixer 34 forincorporation in the signal supplied by the video mixer 34 to theoptical output device 36. The output of the suggestion engine may bemixed into a separate picture-in-picture window, or may be alternativelymixed into an existing EPG picture-in-picture window.

[0029] The viewer may accept one of the program suggestions andnavigates through the EPG structure using the remote control unit 40 tosignal this acceptance. In this case, the EPG block 38 feeds a signalfrom its second output to the control input of the demodulation/tunerblock 32. The demodulation/tuner block 32 tunes to the desiredtelevision channel and sends the relevant video information to the videomixer 34 for display on optical output device 36.

[0030] Alternatively, the viewer may continue browsing through the EPGstructure in an attempt to locate more relevant programs. In this case,as the viewer navigates through the EPG structure, the EPG contextchanges and the suggestion engine 46 provides new suggestions.

[0031] Alternatively, the viewer may at any point exit the context-basedsuggestion function without selecting a suggested program, and operatethe television display apparatus 300 in different ways.

[0032] Examples of the type of screen displays presented to the viewerusing the context-based suggestion function of the television displayapparatus 300 are shown in FIGS. 3A-3E. The output of the optical outputdevice 36 appears at screen 400. Screen 400 shows television programcontent 410, and, as shown in FIG. 3A, a picture-in-picture window 420displaying EPG information. As can be seen in FIG. 3A, the EPGinformation displayed in picture-in-picture window 420 provides, withinbox 422, the viewer with an option of entering the context-based programsuggestion function. If the viewer activates the context-based programsuggestion function and chooses to browse the EPG for, e.g. movies, anexample of the type of output at screen 400 which might be displayed isgiven in FIG. 3B. Together with the television program 410 and the EPGinformation window 420, a new picture-in-picture window 430 containingprogram suggestions is displayed. The user's current EPG context is“movies”, so the suggestions provided in window 430 are based on theviewer profile, and the fact that the viewer is currently looking formovies. The suggestions are therefore not restricted to movies of aparticular genre, nor a particular channel etc. unless these limitationsare included in the profile. If the viewer then chooses to browse formovies of a particular genre such as, e.g. action movies, an example ofthe type of screen displayed is given in FIG. 3C. Here, as the viewer'scontext relates to action movies, the programs suggested and displayedin window 430 are based on both the viewer profile and this new context.

[0033] Alternatively, the user may wish to browse for movies on aparticularly favored channel. In this case, the type of output at screen400 is shown in FIG. 3D where the suggestions provided in the window 430relate to movies on the channel being browsed rather than any particulargenre.

[0034] Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3E, the viewer may wish to browsemovies on a particular channel that also fall within a specific genre,and in this case the suggestions provided in window 430 relate both tothe genre and channel of interest.

[0035] The suggestion engine essentially assesses the correlationbetween the metadata relating to programs falling within the currentlybrowsed context of the EPG and the known viewer profile and presentssuggestions based on the highest correlations. If, however, there isonly a low correlation between such metadata of the currently browsedcontext and the known viewer profile, no suggestion is made. A thresholdlevel of correlation may be preset within the apparatus such that, whensuggestions which are context-based receive correlation levels belowthat threshold, no suggestions are presented.

[0036] To select a suggested program, the viewer activates the window430 and once browsing within the window 430, selects a suggestion in thenormal way.

[0037] Thus, it has been shown how embodiments of the present inventionmay provide a wide range of relevant program suggestions to a viewer.The present invention avoids suggesting programs only relevant to aviewer profile and thereby always repeating the same suggestions.

[0038] It will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art thatnumerous variations may be made which are still within the scope of thepresent invention, the scope of the present invention being limited onlyby the accompanying claims.

1. A method of television program suggestion, characterized in that theprogram suggestions provided are based on a profile (44) of the viewer'sinterests and a viewer's current location in an EPG structure (38). 2.The method of claim 1, wherein program choices which are directlyaccessible from the current location and closely correlate with viewerpreferences from the profile (44) are suggested to the viewer.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein a first suggestion provided to the viewer isa program choice from the current location having a closest correlationwith the viewer preferences.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein, if acorrelation between program choices from the current location and viewerpreferences is below a predetermined level, no suggestion is made. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the viewer's current location in an EPGstructure comprises: (i) an information location relating to aparticular channel, in which case program suggestions are provided on apriority basis from this channel; or (ii) an information locationrelating to a particular time slot, in which case program suggestionsare provided on a priority basis from this time slot; or (iii) aninformation location relating to a particular program genre, in whichcase program suggestions are provided on a priority basis from thisprogram genre or a sub set of this program genre.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the program suggestions provided are updated whenever aviewer's location in an EPG structure changes.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the program suggestions provided are displayed in apicture-in-picture window (430) specifically for displaying programsuggestions.
 8. An apparatus for carrying out the method of claim 1,said apparatus comprising an EPG (38); an interface to enable a viewerto change locations in the EPG (40,42); a stored profile of viewerpreferences (44); a receiver to receive signals including televisionprograms and information relating to television programs (30, 32); andmeans for providing program suggestions (46) based on the viewer'scurrent location in the EPG and the preferences in the stored profile.9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the EPG (38) stores the informationrelating to television programs and provides the information relating totelevision programs to the means for providing program suggestions (46).10. A television display apparatus (300) incorporating the apparatus ofclaim 8 and a display capable of displaying the television programs ofthe received signals, information from the EPG (38) and provided programsuggestions.
 11. A computer program product enabling a programmabledevice when executing said computer program product to function as anapparatus as defined in any one of claims 8 to 10.